The Bionic Book
The Bionic Book: The Six Million Dollar Man and The Bionic Woman Reconstructed (ISBN 1593930836) is a book on the history of The Six Million Dollar Man and The Bionic Woman by television pop culture author, Herbie J. Pilato. The foreword for the book, which was published by BearManor Media in September 2007, was written by Richard Anderson. Running approximately 375 pages, the book was written over the course of more than 13 years, and follows the history of the franchise inspired by Martin Caidin's novel Cyborg from its beginnings (which actually predate Caidin's novel) through to 2007 and the announcement of the Bionic Woman remake series (though beyond a brief reference the book does not delve into the production of the remake series). The book features interviews with the cast, producers, and the now-deceased Caidin, and features behind-the-scenes background on the production of the two TV series and the reunion telefilms. Among the many revelations are references to actors considered for the roles of Steve and Jaime, both before their respective series began, and during production. The book, which includes a number of black-and-white photographs, also includes discussion on the merchandising of the franchise, real-world medical breakthroughs, special effects wizardry, Cold War implications, and ends with a detailed episode guide for both original series. Author Pilato has written a number of books on the history of television, examining the development of TV shows including Bewitched and Kung Fu, among others. Promotional material BearManor Media press release "Before Hiro on Heroes, there was Steve Austin - The Six Million Dollar Man. Before Buffy Summers on Buffy The Vampire Slayer, there was Jaime Sommers - The Bionic Woman. Now, television's classic wonder people of the 1970s are back and stronger than ever in - THE BIONIC BOOK: THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN AND THE BIONIC WOMAN RECONSTRUCTED, written by best-selling author Herbie J Pilato (Bewitched Forever, The Kung Fu Book of Caine). "Co-billed as the Cybernetic Compendium To TV's Most Realistic Sci-Fi Superhero Shows, THE BIONIC BOOK is chuck full of commentary culled from Pilato's exclusive interviews with Bionic stars Lee Majors (who played half-superman/half-mechanical marvel Steve Austin), Lindsay Wagner (Jaime Sommers - Steve's female counter-part and one true love), series creator (and science fiction novel icon) Martin Caidin, executive producer Harve Bennett (who would later help to ignite the Star Trek feature film franchise), producer/director Kenneth Johnson (The Incredible Hulk and Alien Nation) and actor Richard Anderson, the latter of whom portrayed Oscar Goldman - Steve and Jaime's stoic but understanding super-viser on both shows (and who has penned the book's foreword). "Much more than a mere TV trivia guide, THE BIONIC BOOK explores in-depth the social, psychological, medical and scientic influence, appeal and message behind two of the most popular and heroic science fiction television programs of all time." Sci-Fi Universe teaser In 1994, a six-page preview of The Bionic Book was published in Sci-Fi Universe magazine, although the book, ultimately, would not be published for another 13 years. The final book published is, however, mainly in plain text, with occasional plates of photos in black-and-white. Image:Photo0115.jpg Image:Photo0117.jpg Image:Photo0125.jpg Image:Photo0131.jpg Image:Photo0132.jpg Image:Photo0133.jpg Bionic Book, The Bionic Book